1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to a device for confining an animal to a small defined area. More particularly, this invention pertains to a portable device for confining an animal to a small defined area without using tangible barriers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pet owners are often faced with the task of confining their pet to a small designated area. Various circumstances necessitate animal containment to a small area such as when an animal owner leaves an animal unattended in a home while the pet owner goes to work or school. Additionally, containment prevents an animal from chewing or scratching the pet owner's property or from tracking dirt and filth through the pet owner's home. Pet owners not only want to confine their pet to a small defined area, but want to do so in a manner that is safe and pleasant for the pet and in a manner that is aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, pet owners want unhindered access to their pet during confinement to the extent that pet owners can feed, groom, or otherwise tend to their pet. Oftentimes, pet owners must confine their pet to a small designated area that is not within the pet owner's home. Circumstances such as these include the pet owner visiting family or a friend and bringing the pet along, or the pet owner leaving the pet with a friend and going out of town, or the pet owner taking the pet to a public place where the pet must be confined to a small area. Consequently, the pet owner requires an animal containment device that is portable.
Conventional devices that address the discussed issues of animal containment to a small designated area include pet crates. A pet crate is essentially a portable cage that is large enough to hold the pet. While a pet crate is portable and confines a pet to a small designated area, this type of conventional device is limited in that the confinement is not pleasant for the pet and is likely to be perceived by the pet as punishment. More specifically, a pet crate restricts the pet's view of its surroundings, limits the pet's ability to stand and stretch, and restricts the circulation of air to the pet. Additionally, a pet owner's access to a pet that is confined within a conventional pet crate is limited to the ingress/egress. Also, a conventional pet crate is not aesthetically pleasing to most pet owners.
Other devices for animal containment include electronic containment fences that bound an area with an antenna. A transmitter connected to the antenna generates a signal that broadcasts at a limited range from the antenna creating an electronic boundary. A correction unit carried by an animal is designed to receive the broadcast signal when the animal approaches the antenna. Depending on the proximity to the boundary, i.e., the signal strength of the received signal, the correction unit issues a warning or correction stimulus that deters the animal from moving closer to the boundary. When the animal is outside the broadcast range of the signal, it is considered to be in the safe zone where no stimulus is received. While such systems are generally satisfactory for larger areas, such as a yard, the signal must have a broadcast range sufficient to reach correction unit at the height of a large dog. Accordingly, the minimum effective broadcast distance prohibits the use of the electronic containment fences in small areas, i.e., crate-sized areas, because there is insufficient distance to create a safe zone.